Ohio lawmakers: Resignation just first step for VA

Saturday

May 31, 2014 at 12:01 AMMay 31, 2014 at 12:32 PM

WASHINGTON -- The two Iraq war veterans serving in Ohio's U.S. House delegation reflected the opinion of many of their state colleagues yesterday: The resignation of Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki was a good step, but the problems at the VA are far larger than one man.

Jessica Wehrman, The Columbus Dispatch

WASHINGTON -- The two Iraq war veterans serving in Ohio’s U.S. House delegation reflected the opinion of many of their state colleagues yesterday: The resignation of Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki was a good step, but the problems at the VA are far larger than one man.

“The next VA secretary must have the proper authority to fire all those responsible for this crisis, as well as address the outrageous backlog,” said Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Upper Arlington, who has served for 28 years in the Ohio Army National Guard, including a year-long stint in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Djibouti.

Stivers said he is considering introducing a bill that would allow veterans to receive health care at local hospitals, rather than wait on the VA for treatment.

Meanwhile, Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Cincinnati, who served as a doctor in the Abu Ghraib prison hospital in Iraq from 2005 to 2006, called Shinseki’s resignation “only a first step towards accountability.”

“The system needs a wholesale cultural shift in how they treat our veterans,” said Wenstrup, the lone Ohioan on the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

House Speaker John Boehner, in an early afternoon appearance on Capitol Hill, said Shinseki’s resignation does not absolve President Barack Obama’s administration from the errors that have plagued the department.

“Business as usual cannot continue,” said the West Chester Republican. “Until the president outlines a vision and an effective plan for addressing the broad dysfunction at the VA, today’s announcement really changes nothing.”

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, the only Ohio senator ever to serve a full term on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, had kind words for Shinseki.

“Secretary Shinseki has dedicated his life to serving our nation as a soldier and as an advocate for our nation’s veterans,” he said, adding that Shinseki’s successor “must take swift action to address problems” at the VA.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said he was hopeful that “new leadership and a fresh set of eyes” would help solve problems in the VA. He added that “simply replacing the secretary — while necessary — is in no way sufficient to begin to eliminate the rot that has plagued veterans’ health care.”

Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Jefferson Township, called the scandal “tragic and inexcusable” and said she was not surprised by Shinseki’s resignation.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, said Americans are right to be “outraged” at the treatment veterans were receiving.

“I hope that the appointment of a new secretary will help the president focus his attention and the resources of his administration on fixing a systemic problem at the VA that has stood in the way of veterans receiving the quality care they need and deserve,” he said.